The undefeated Lady Raiders (20-0) will look take care of business this weekend at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships at Bloomsburg.

Shippensburg, the Western Division top seed, will take on East Stroudsburg, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Division at noon today in one semifinal. In the other semifinal, the top seed in the East, Bloomsburg, will face Mansfield, No. 2 in the West, at 2:30 p.m.

The semifinal winners will square off in the championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Sports Stadium. In last year’s title game, Bloomsburg edged Shippensburg 2-1 in overtime after coming back from a 1-0 deficit. The two teams met again in the NCAA championship semifinals where the Bloomsburg pulled out a 4-2 decision. The Lady Huskies went on to claim the national championship by downing UMass Lowell 3-2.

“I think the big thing we learned from last year [in the PSAC title game] was that we allowed them to come back instead of playing every second of the full 70 minutes,” said sophomore midfield Taylor Jones, a Mechanicsburg High School graduate.

The Lady Raiders, who are competing in the PSAC championships 11 times in 12 years under coach Bertis Landis, have played focused all season with great team defense and timely and aggressive offense. The team is averaging 4.60 goals, 23.5 shots and has totaled 57 assists. Defensively, it is allowing 0.85 goals, 7.3 shots and has registered eight shutouts.

“It all started with a trip to Bermuda during the preseason [August] which brought us together as a team,” said sophomore defender Ashley Taylor, a former Cumberland Valley standout, who has 10 goals and 12 assists.

“We have great chemistry like a big family and we play well as a team. Our defense is outstanding and we have strong fundamentals.”

Shippensburg, which defeated Bloomsburg (3-1) in late September, have outscored its opponents 92-17 and recorded 249 penalty corners. The Lady Raiders also topped East Stroudsburg twice during the regular season, 3-2 in overtime and 3-0 in the regular-season finale.

“We have three seniors [Kristen Brooks, Emily Fulton and Amanda Strous] who have provided excellent leadership, an amazing sophomore class and two freshmen [Bre White and Katie Shoop] who have played well,” said Landis, who is one victory away from her 200th career win. “It’s been a process, and I’m surprised at how fast the team came together. I think last year they learned the value of team.”

Junior forward Kristina Taylor is the leading scorer for Shippensburg with 19 goals and 40 points. White, a former Lower Dauphin standout, is second on the team with 15 goals and 10 assists.

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